![]() Rhubarb Custard Pie with Ginger Crumble (makes one 9" pie) Orange Pie Pastry 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces ½ teaspoon orange zest 3-4 tablespoons fresh orange juice, chilled In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, sugar and orange zest. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the orange juice and using a fork or your fingertips, gently gather the mixture into a soft dough. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the chilled dough to fit a 9” pie plate. Trim the edges and crimp the crust, then place in the freezer. Ginger Crumble (adapted from BBC Food) ½ cup dark brown sugar ¼ cup granulated sugar ½ cup white whole-wheat flour ⅓ cup candied ginger, diced into small pieces 5 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces In a medium bowl, combine sugars, flour and candied ginger. Add the cold butter and use a pastry blender or two knives to combine into a crumbly mixture. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling. Rhubarb Custard filling (with a nod to Kate Lebo) 3 generous cups rhubarb, (1 lb. trimmed of leaves) cut into ½” pieces 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar ½ teaspoon orange zest ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 2 eggs 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, orange zest, cardamom and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, the heavy cream and the vanilla. Add the egg/cream mixture to the flour/sugar/spices, whisking until smooth, then gradually whisk in the butter. Set the chilled pie shell on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the cut rhubarb in the pie shell and gently pour the custard over it. Bake the pie for 30 minutes; a thin skin will have formed. Sprinkle the crumble over the custard and bake for an additional 30 minutes, rotating the pie front to back to make sure it is browning evenly. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before serving.
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![]() Hangover Morning Biscuits Updated January 1, 2022 (adapted from Zoe Nathan and Midwest Living) (serves 8, feeling fragile) ½ lb. thick cut bacon, cut into ½” pieces, cooked through (but not too crispy) well drained on paper towels (feel free to sub turkey bacon) 1 small onion, diced, sautéed in a dab of butter and cooled (generous ¼ cup) 1 small sweet potato, peeled, diced, sautéed in butter, cooled (generous ½ cup) 1¼ cups all-purpose flour or 1¼ cups white/whole wheat flour ½ cup cornmeal 1½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper a generous pinch of cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon salt 1 stick (4 oz.) cold butter, cut into ½” pieces 2 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated (generous 1/2 cup) 7 tablespoons buttermilk 3 tablespoons good quality maple syrup an egg wash made from 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream, whisked together coarse salt for sprinkling maple syrup for dunking sunny side eggs, if you wish The bacon, onion and sweet potato can be cooked, cooled and refrigerated the day before. (Otherwise allow enough time for these ingredients to cool thoroughly before adding them to the biscuit fixings.) When ready, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, black pepper, cayenne and salt. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the cubed butter until it resembles pea-size crumbs. Add the cooked/cooled bacon, potato and onion. Fold in the grated cheddar cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and maple syrup. Add to the dry ingredients/butter/bacon mixture using a fork to gently mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. Turn out onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and using the tips of your fingers, shape the dough into a circle, about 7” round and 1” thick. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt. Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut the circle of dough into 8 equal pie-shaped wedges. Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet, allowing about 2 inches apart between them. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and rotate the tray from back to front. Bake an additional 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven, cool briefly on a rack. Serve with a sunny side egg and additional maple syrup for dunking. ![]() Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie adapted from Little Pie Company (makes one 6½“ pie) Pie crust 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1½ teaspoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 stick (4 oz.) cold sweet butter, cut into small pieces 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 3 tablespoons ice cold water In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Combine the apple cider vinegar with the ice cold water in a small ramekin or bowl. Add the butter to the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse until crumbly. Empty the flour/butter mixture into a medium bowl and using a fork or the tips of your fingers, add the vinegar/water until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap, dust with flour and wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling out. When chilled, roll out the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and fit into the pie plate, crimping the edges. Refrigerate the pie shell while you prepare the filling and crumble. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line pie shell with parchment and beans and blind bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove parchment/beans and set aside to cool. Walnut Crumble topping ¼ cup flour ¼ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1½ teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces 1 cup walnut halves In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugars and cinnamon. Using your fingers or a fork or a pastry cutter, add the butter until the mixture is crumbly, then add the walnut halves. Chill while preparing the filling. Sour Cream Apple filling 2 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I usually end up with about 13-14 oz. of slices) 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1½ tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon 4 oz. sour cream 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, flour and cinnamon. Stir in the sour cream, egg and vanilla. Add the apples, tossing to coat. Spoon filling into cooled, blind baked crust. Sprinkle with crumble topping. Place pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake on the lowest oven rack at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes until apples are tender. (To prevent over-browning, cover the top of the pie with a sheet of parchment or aluminum foil.) Cool for at least 2 hours before slicing and refrigerate any leftovers. ![]() Lemon-Poppyseed Hamantaschen Dough (with a nod to Marcy Goldman) 4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 cup all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons poppy seeds egg wash made from 1 egg yolk combined with 3 tablespoons milk or cream In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and poppy seeds. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until smooth, then add cream cheese, blending well. With mixer on low add vanilla, flour mixture and lemon zest. Dough will be soft, do not overmix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, sealing well. Place in refrigerator at least one hour, preferably overnight. Lemon Curd (a medley of recipes from Tabora, Stella Notte and A Slice of Heaven) (makes 2 generous cups; refrigerated lasts 5 days.) 1 cup granulated sugar ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 7 large egg yolks 1 tablespoon lemon zest 4 ounces, unsalted butter, cut into pieces In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the sugar, lemon juice and egg yolks. Set over simmering water, whisking occasionally until the mixture becomes thick. It should register about 172 degrees on a candy thermometer when it’s ready. Remove from the heat and strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Add the lemon zest and let the curd cool down for about fifteen minutes. Add the butter pieces to the curd, a few at a time, whisking to incorporate. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled. To assemble the Hamantaschen: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Turn dough out onto a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll out to a little less than ⅛” thick. (If the dough is too thick, it does not bake thoroughly and loses some of its flakiness.) For traditional Hamantaschen, cut out 3½” circles. I like to use a 7½” tart pan as a guide and cut out large circles. Brush the outer edge of the circles with a bit of egg wash- this will help the triangles hold their shape. For the 3½” circles, place a teaspoonful of cold lemon curd in the center of each circle; for the 7½” circles, place about 3 tablespoons of lemon curd in the center and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly. It’s tempting to overfill these, but that will only cause them to lose their shape in the oven. Fold the pastry over the filling, starting with the left side, then the right, then tucking in the bottom lip to seal the pastry. Brush the edges only (not the centers) with egg wash and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Return the filled Hamantaschen to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before baking. If you skip this step, the pastries will open in the oven resembling sad circles instead of triangles. For the 7½” Hamantaschen, bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 10 minutes then rotate the tray and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the curd is set. For the 3½” pastries, bake on the bottom rack of the oven for a total of 12-15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the curd is set. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. When completely cool, drizzle with Lemon Glaze. Lemon Glaze 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, strained ¾ cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar then add zest. Use a fork or a pastry bag to drizzle the cooled Hamantaschen with glaze. |
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